UK lawyers support Pak lawyers’ movement
ISLAMABAD: A group of lawyers from the United Kingdom on Sunday said they could move the British court against the MQM chief Altaf Hussain if concrete evidence was available against his involvement in the April 9 burning of lawyers in Karachi.
The group of lawyers led by Barrister Sibghatullah Kadri, chairman UK Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and Justice in Pakistan, addressed a press conference at the Islamabad Press Club.
The lawyers said that the British courts worked on solid evidence and required witnesses. They said that the news of burning alive of lawyers had shocked the whole world. It was horrific to note that chemicals were used against the lawyers. ìIt is the worst terrorism. It is unimaginable that such gory incidents can take place in a civilised and democratic country,î said Barrister Kadri.
The group is on a visit to Pakistan to show solidarity with the legal fraternity in Pakistan and especially to condole the killing of lawyers on April 9 in Karachi. During their stay, they met deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Sindh chief minister and representatives of different bars and discussed issues of judgesà reinstatement, lawyersà protection and supremacy of the Constitution.
Barrister Kadri said they extended an invitation to Justice Chaudhry to visit the UK which was accepted. He regretted that so far no suo moto notice had been taken by any of the courts in Pakistan against the burning of lawyers. He demanded that the government should hold an independent inquiry into the incident and punish the culprits.
He said the UK Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and Justice in Pakistan was especially formed to support the lawyersà movement here. It has about 300 members, including lawyers of Pakistani origin, Britishers, Asians and of African descent. It is also backed by the Society of Asian Lawyers with its 600 members of Asian origin, the Society of Black Lawyers having about 300 members of African origin. Not only this, the Bar Council of England is also actively backing the lawyersà movement in Pakistan, Barrister Kadri added.
To a question about the reinstatement of judges, he said Zardari was a shrewd politician. ìHe wants independent judiciary. As a matter of fact, PPP has suffered the most from dictatorships due to non-existence of independent judiciary,î the chairman of the UK lawyers committee said and hoped that judiciary would be restored very soon. Kadri said the events in Pakistan like police holding the chief justice by hair and dragging him, the imposition of emergency and baton-charging of lawyers, members of civil society and journalists brought a bad name to the country. He held President Musharraf responsible for all this. In his views, emergency was imposed only because Musharraf wanted to fire the judges who were hearing a petition against his re-election as the president. About his meeting with the deposed chief justice, he said Justice Chaudhry was upbeat. He said that the justice reiterated his resolve to continue his struggle for the supremacy of law.
Source: The News
Date:4/21/2008
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